The best of people dealing with the worst of Gaia

Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina Sept. 27, 2024

Gaia (mother earth) is going through the climate crisis. It is not just one storm. It is not just one season of El Nino.

What is most interesting is being an observer...one of the people who have watched this happening over several years (a decade?)

And seeing what happens whenever people have to deal with a climate crisis. In person. Together. Reaching out to help one another!

Again and again.

What would you do? You never know for sure.

But the stories of helpers aren't just fabrications.

Rev. Fred Rogers, of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was right, look for the helpers.

Biltmore Ave at Swannanoa River Road. Sept. 27, 2024. I frequently would drive through and pick up lunch at that Wendy's.

Asheville Mall in background on Tunnel Road.

The French Broad River  by Victoria A. Ifatusin

Ole' Guacamole's Restaurant flooded by Flat Creek in Black Mountain

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 What did I learn after Hurricane Helene? By Beloved Asheville Love in action, FB group

I learned that political divisions fade when the only hands we have are the hands of our neighbors, when the only hope we have is the strength of our community.

What did I learn after Hurricane Helene?

I learned that possessions can be swept away in a moment, but every survivor repeats the same truth: life, family, and love are what truly matter. Everything else can be rebuilt.

What did I learn after Hurricane Helene?

I learned that strangers will risk their lives for friends they have not yet met, without hesitation, proving that human compassion runs deeper than fear.

What did I learn after Hurricane Helene?

I learned that in the midst of destruction, even the smallest act of kindness can light up someone’s entire world—a meal, a blanket, a word of comfort, a hand held in the dark.

What did I learn after Hurricane Helene?

I learned that the world we dream of—a world where love for our neighbor is our daily practice—is not a utopia. It is real. We lived it. Something within us synchronized, vibrating with Radical Love, reminding us that unity is not an idea, but a living truth.

One year later, the storm is behind us, but its lessons remain. If we carry them forward, we do more than rebuild homes—we rebuild hope, community, and humanity itself. Together, we heal. Together, we rise

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This check was for a landlord to help people living in tents and travel trailers on his land.

December in Swannanoa NC.

AmeriCorps Volunteers taking FEMA applications at the Swannanoa Library in mid-October. On the other side of the room were shelves of food free to take home for the applicants.

There were also blankets, sleeping bags and clothes. A National Guardsman may have been asked to keep people from taking more than they needed, or just to give a sense of security. He wouldn't say.

More supplies were delivered...drinking water was a first priority.

Emergency services dealt with trees that had fallen from wind and days of wet saturation of the ground. This is Montreat Rd. in Black Mountain, where I drove to see how my friend Teresa and her husband were doing. They were fine though a limb of a tree had come down on their roof.

Free hot meals were distributed in several locations in town. This was after I returned to town - having to evacuate for 10 days myself. I had to leave when there was no electricity so that I could use my breathing equipment...and was so grateful to cousin John who took me in, and friend Martha who made my visit feel like a vacation.

Sharing with Thankful Thursday (if it's still open)

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Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote. 

-George Jean Nathan, author and editor (1882-1958)

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More pottery from the Durango Autumn Arts Festival

Brianna Kramer came from Pagosa Springs CO with her mid-range (cone 6) stoneware. It was the closest to what I would usually see in North Carolina festivals.